Finally, the Oscars will take place on Sunday night after what has seemed like a long wait this winter. If you're still trying to catch up on all the critically acclaimed nominees before Hollywood's biggest night, don't worry — there's still time. You might be wondering: is Manchester By The Sea on Netflix yet? The movie is available on Netflix through the company's DVD-by-mail service, but it isn't available to stream on the service just yet. Manchester By The Sea was just released on DVD this week and you can still catch the film, which is nominated for six Oscars, in theaters.
If you don't feel like watching the tearjerker film on the big screen, you can stream Manchester By The Sea from providers such as Amazon Video, iTunes, and YouTube, starting at $4.99. But be sure to get your tissues ready, because this one will trigger the waterworks. Manchester By The Sea follows janitor Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) who returns to his hometown upon hearing about his older brother Joe's death. Lee is forced to face the demons of his own past in Manchester By The Sea (the town) as he learns that Joe named him as guardian to his teen son Patrick (Lucas Hedges). The film is nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Affleck), Best Supporting Actress (Michelle Williams as Lee's ex-wife Randi), Best Supporting Actor (Hedges), and Best Director (Kenneth Lonergan).
Affleck has emerged as somewhat of an Oscar frontrunner, despite the allegations of sexual harassment that received some attention this winter. The actor denied those allegations and gave a brief statement to Variety about the 2010 sexual harassment lawsuit, which settled out of court, in October: “People say whatever they want,” he said. “Sometimes it doesn’t matter how you respond ... I guess people think if you’re well-known, it’s perfectly fine to say anything you want. I don’t know why that is. But it shouldn’t be, because everybody has families and lives.:
Throughout awards season, Affleck has collected many Best Actor trophies for his role in the movie, including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a National Board of Review award, and a Critics Choice Award. Affleck told Deadline that the role of Lee in Manchester By The Sea was a challenging one for him to tackle.
"The idea of being the person at the center of it was daunting in some way, because it’s a really challenging part, having to convey an awful lot of the interior life of a person with almost no opportunity to speak to that," he said in the interview. "It really just has to be palpable in the way that he behaves, and the tone he takes with people, and the very, very few moments when he cracks. That was tough."
While the film deals with death and tragedy, there is also some humor in it. Lonergan, who is also nominated for writing the screenplay, told the Toronto Star that it was important to him for the film to have a balance of dark and light moments. "...I like that these characters deal with each other with humor," Lonergan said. "I really like it when people from the area tell me that the film seems authentic."
See how many Oscars get bestowed upon Manchester By The Sea on Sunday night during the Academy Awards ceremony.
